Barcelona’s Argentine point guard Nico Laprovittola suffers a torn anterior cruciate ligament and an injury to the external meniscus in his right knee, the Barça club announced on Monday. The 34-year-old Albiceleste international will undergo surgery in the coming days. After the operation, Barça will issue a new statement with the estimated time he will be out, although recovery for this type of injury usually takes around nine months, so the point guard would miss the remainder of the season.
Laprovittola was injured last Sunday during the Catalan team’s ACB League defeat against Baskonia (89-93) at the Palau Blaugrana. In a fortuitous action in the last quarter, after a bad fall after a charge from behind by Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, the Barça player misplaced his right leg and was left lying on the court with gestures of pain. He went to the locker room with the help of his teammate Jan Vesely and a member of the team’s coaching staff, since the point guard could not support his affected leg.
After the match, the culé coach, Joan Peñarroya, announced that Laprovittola’s injury “did not look good.” “We are going to wait for the tests, but surely the worst news today will not be the defeat,” said the Barça coach after learning of the first diagnosis provided by the club on the same night of the match, which pointed to a sprained knee ligament. . This Monday, subsequent tests have confirmed the seriousness of the extent of the injury, which could leave the point guard in dry dock for several months.
This is the second injury this year for the Argentine point guard, who was already out five games during the month of January due to muscle discomfort in the adductor of his left thigh. Laprovittola’s loss is bad news for Barcelona, which loses one of its most important players. At the start of the season, Lapro combined the point guard and shooting guard positions, with 10 points, six assists and a 13.2 rating in the first four rounds of the Euroleague, a competition in which Barça had started well, with a balance of three victories and one defeat.
In the ACB League, Barcelona is in third position in the table after having suffered only one defeat (this last round against Baskonia). Laprovittola, specifically, recorded 7.7 points, 5.2 assists and a rating of 9.7 this season, according to the data offered by the official website of the Catalan team. Now the club will have to make up for the Argentine’s absence with Juan Núñez, the 20-year-old who precisely in the match against Baskonia equaled his best scoring performance with Barça in the League. Núñez managed to score eight points, four rebounds, four assists and achieve a recovery in just over 20 minutes of play.
The Argentine basketball team will also miss him. Next November, the second window of the 2025 Nicaragua AmeriCup qualifiers will be held, a competition in which Argentina is the current champion after defeating Brazil last year at home by 75-73.
The Argentines will have to face Venezuela and Colombia next month without Laprovittola in two crucial games for the Albiceleste. The four teams in group A come to this round with a 1-1 record, so this double home date is very important to gain an advantage in the table. Laprovittola aimed to be one of those called up by coach Pablo Prigioni. The point guard was present during the European tour last July, where they achieved three wins and one loss.
